Commentaries:
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
old shoes and clouted—Those who have but one ass or mule for themselves and baggage frequently dismount and walk—a circumstance which may account for the worn shoes of the pretended travellers.
bread . . . dry and mouldy—This must have been that commonly used by travellers—a sort of biscuit made in the form of large rings, about an inch thick, and four or five inches in diameter. Not being so well baked as our biscuits, it becomes hard and mouldy from the moisture left in the dough. It is usually soaked in water previous to being used.
THE GIBEONITES OBTAIN A LEAGUE BY CRAFT. (Joshua 9:3-15)
when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard—This town, as its name imports, was situated on a rocky eminence, about six miles northwest from Jerusalem, where the modern village of El Jib now stands. It was the capital of the Hivites, and a large important city (Joshua 10:2). It seems to have formed, in union with a few other towns in the neighborhood, a free independent state (Joshua 9:17) and to have enjoyed a republican government (Joshua 9:11).
Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Joshua 9:5:
Joshua 9:3-15
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